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Thom Yorke and Atoms for Peace Boycott Spotify

Saying they are defending the rights of new and emerging recording artists, Thom Yorke and Atoms for Peace have removed their tracks from Spotify, the commercial music streaming service.

Best known for his work with Radiohead, Yorke pulled his 2006 solo album “The Eraser” while the band Atoms for Peace, which Yorke leads, took down their ’13 disk “Amok.” As of earlier this afternoon, both tracks from Yorke’s ’09 two-sided single “The Hollow Earth” and “Feeling Pulled Apart by Horses” are still available on the service, as are some of his remixes and guest appearances.

A representative for Spotify had no comment.

Yorke wrote: “Make no mistake, new artists you discover on Spotify will not get paid. Meanwhile shareholders will shortly begin rolling in it. Simples.”

On its website, Spotify, which is reported to have some six-million paid subscribers, claims to pay royalties in relation to an artist’s popularity on the service. “For example, we will pay out approximately 2% of our gross royalties for an artist whose music represents approximately 2% of what our users stream,” it states. “A popular song or album can generate far more revenue for an artist over time than it historically would have from upfront unit sales.” To see the full statements, go here.

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